Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section)

This white paper includes:

1. Background of Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section).

2. Route planning of the Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section).

3. At present, the progress of the Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia section) in various countries.

4. Difficulties in the implementation of the Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section).

5. How does the Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section) plan life abroad?

1. Background of Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section).

Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section), also known as Kunming-New Line (Kunming-Singapore).

This is a railway network involving China, Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore.

The road map is roughly as follows:

I took this photo myself. Maybe the location of the city is not very accurate, but the general direction is enough.

Speaking of the Southeast Asian section of the Trans-Asian Railway, what is the Trans-Asian Railway?

The Trans-Asian Railway is a huge project involving many countries and regions, and it is a railway network connecting the whole Eurasian continent.

The idea of the Trans-Asian Railway began in 1960, when several Asian countries conducted feasibility studies on building a through railway from Singapore to Turkey, from Singapore to Istanbul, Turkey, passing through Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Iran, and finally reaching Europe and Africa.

After the Vietnam War, regional conflicts and the Cold War, this idea was shelved.

In the1980s and1990s, the situation in Asian countries tended to be stable, and the Trans-Asian Railway was put on the agenda again.

From 65438 to 0995, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir proposed to build an international railway from Kunming, China to Singapore via Laos, Thailand and Malaysia at the ASEAN Summit.

(It is the route of the Southeast Asian section of the Trans-Asian Railway that we are discussing today)

In 2006, the sixty-second General Assembly of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific held in Indonesia adopted the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway.

Half a year later, in June 165438+ 10/0, 18 of the 28 countries involved in the trans-Asian railway formally signed the agreement, making it legally effective.

At this point, the Trans-Asian Railway has taken a substantial first step.

(18 The signatories are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. )

The Trans-Asian Railway has four routes: North, South, North and South and Southeast Asia (ASEAN).

Today, I will mainly talk about the Southeast Asian section of the Trans-Asian Railway, the so-called Kunming-Xinjiang Railway.

It involves China, Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore.

(It is the position circled in blue below)

Second, route planning.

The Southeast Asia section of the Trans-Asian Railway is divided into three lines: east, middle and west.

The East Line (blue), namely the China-Vietnam Railway, starts from Kunming, China, passes through Hanoi, Vietnam and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, reaches Bangkok, Thailand, and connects Malaysia and Singapore to the south.

The central line (red), namely China-Laos Railway, starts from Kunming, China, passes through Vientiane, Laos and Bangkok, Thailand, and finally connects Malaysia and Singapore.

The western line (purple), namely the China-Myanmar Railway, starts from Kunming, China, passes through Yangon, Myanmar and Bangkok, Thailand, and finally connects Malaysia and Singapore.

This railway network was determined in 2006 and is planned to be completed within 30 years, that is, it is planned to be completed in 2036.

Up to now, the China-Laos line has been completed and opened to traffic, and it was opened from Kunming, China to Vientiane, Laos, which was aided by China in February 20021year.

Other sectors have not made much progress at present.

Third, the current progress of various countries.

1, Zhong-Lao line (center line)

20 16 of the China-Laos line was started, and 202 1 and 12 were completed and opened to traffic.

From the border of Laos to Vientiane, Vietnam, the total length is 4 14 km, the passenger speed is 160 km, and the freight speed is 120 km, which is basically a quasi-high-speed rail (high-speed rail speed is 200 km/h). It takes three hours from China to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, by train.

2. Zhongtai Line

Sino-Thai Railway is the first standard gauge high-speed railway in Thailand. At present, all domestic railways in Thailand are meter rails with a maximum operating speed of 50 kilometers per hour. The Sino-Thai Railway will be built with China technology. The first phase of the project will connect Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast of Thailand, and the second phase will extend to nong khai, just across the river from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and connect with the China-Laos railway network to Kunming, Yunnan, China.

The Sino-Thai Railway will continue to extend China-Laos Railway, which has already started construction, with a total length of about 845 kilometers, from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok, the capital, via northeast Thailand. The first phase of the railway is Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima, which is about 253 kilometers long, and the second phase is nong khai, which is about 346 kilometers long. The third phase is Matabu in Rayong, which is about 246 kilometers long.

In addition, the Sino-Thai Railway will accelerate Yunnan to become the hub of China facing Southeast Asia, turn Yunnan, an inland province, into a waterless inland port connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia, and turn Yunnan from the end of railway transportation into a real railway hub.

The Sino-Thai Railway has greatly reduced the trade cost.

The Sino-Thai railway project will not only make it more convenient for China people to travel to Southeast Asia and engage in business activities, but also greatly save the logistics and freight costs between the two countries. At present, the transportation routes between China and Thailand are mainly sea and land, which takes a long time and costs a lot. After the completion of the Sino-Thai Railway, the train speed along Thailand will be greatly increased, and the transportation cost will be reduced by about 12% while saving time.

What are the advantages of China?

The Sino-Thai railway is not only of great significance to Thailand's domestic transportation, but also greatly facilitates the transportation of the whole Southeast Asia, making Thailand a transportation hub of ASEAN. Sino-Thai railway cooperation will bring benefits to Thailand's economic and social development. With the reduction of transportation costs between China and Thailand, this railway will increase the number of tourists from China by 2 million every year in Thailand, and further facilitate the export of agricultural products in Thailand.

Thailand will become the connection point of maritime transportation between China and ASEAN countries, and China's export commodities and logistics can be effectively transported by connecting the whole ASEAN through the Maritime Silk Road.

If you look at the map, Thailand and China are not directly adjacent, so the "China-Thailand Railway" is not accurate.

But in this trans-Asian railway network, Thailand has a very important geographical position, because eventually this railway line will go to Malaysia, Singapore and connect the Straits of Malacca.

If you want to reach Malacca by land, you must pass through Thailand;

Moreover, the east, middle and west routes finally meet in Bangkok, Thailand.

In short, if you want to run through the Kunming-Xinjiang line, Thailand can't bypass it and has an important hub position.

Now China and Laos are connected, and Laos borders Thailand. As long as the railway in Thailand is repaired, the Kunming-Xinjiang line will be more than half successful.

China follows Laos and Laos follows Thailand, so there is nothing wrong with the statement of "China-Thailand Railway".

Or look at the map:

The Sino-Thai Railway, with a total length of 867 kilometers, starts from Langkai on the Thai border, passes through Kongjing, and reaches Bangkok from Nakhon Ratchasima.

The railway is divided into two stages:

Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima1;

The second stage: yawn and arrive at the corridor.

Speaking of which, I didn't understand it before. Kong Jing is such a small city that there are no China people there. China also has a consulate. I got it when I was preparing this article these days. Kongjing is an important hub city of China-Thailand railway and needs a consulate. )

After several twists and turns in the early stage of the Sino-Thai railway, China and Thailand finally signed an agreement on 20 17 for joint development. First, the section from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima 1 will be developed with China high-speed rail technology, which is expected to open to traffic in 2026.

When will the second phase from Nakhon Ratchasima to Langkai start? I haven't found the exact information yet. The latest relevant information found on the Internet is:

With the opening of China-Laos Railway, the construction of the Sino-Thai line will be accelerated. Currently, the design is being stepped up. It is expected to be submitted to the cabinet for deliberation in 2022 and open to traffic in 2027.

Due to various reasons, the railway construction period in Thailand is frequently delayed and the progress is very slow. However, with the opening of China-Laos Railway in February, 20021,the situation may improve a little, and the speed should be accelerated.

According to the information currently available, if everything in the Thai cabinet is submitted for trial in 2022 this year, the Sino-Thai Railway will be opened to traffic in 2027 at the earliest.

The following picture shows the train route map of Thailand:

As a branch line of the Trans-Asian Railway, the high-speed rail from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is probably developed by Japan and Thailand in cooperation, using Japanese Shinkansen technology.

The information found online is expected to be open to traffic in 2032, but at present, there is no substantial progress.

Seeing this, friends who like Chiang Mai may be depressed. Is there no chance to take China's "land" to Chiang Mai?

Yes, there are two ways:

1. After the China-Thailand railway is connected, take the train from Kunming, Yunnan, pass through Vientiane, Laos, and arrive in Bangkok, Thailand.

Then fly to Chiang Mai, Bangkok to Chiang Mai for more than an hour, and the fare is 100 yuan, which is convenient and relaxed.

2. Kunming Highway. (China, Laos, Thailand)

From Kunming, Mohan Port entered Laos, and then went to Chiang Rai, Payao, Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand.

Kunming Highway can eventually go south to Malaysia and Singapore.

The Kunming Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway are complementary, and the final destination is Malaysia and Singapore. )

Kunming Highway is the first international expressway in China, which can cross China, Laos and Thailand in 20 hours.

By the way, if there is an opportunity in the future, you can drive to road trip. The specific procedures can be checked online.

The logic of this process should be:

If you need a visa, involving Laos and Thailand, you should go to the Lao Consulate in Kunming and the Thai Consulate in Kunming.

Cars need a pass, and you can go to the border crossing between China and Laos.

I have never driven this road by myself, so I'm not sure. Please check it online.

Usually, the best state of a country's traffic is the smooth sea, land and air lines. At present, the most convenient means of transportation in Thailand is airplane. Because the country is small, it takes one or two hours to go anywhere, and the air ticket is one or two hundred yuan, so it is no problem to "empty" Thailand.

In terms of "road", expressway between Thai cities is ok. Although it is not as good as expressway in China, it is no problem to be considered as a "national highway".

The "highway" railway in Thailand is relatively poor. Without high-speed rail, the train is very slow. Visually, people around you go out by car or plane, and few people take the train.

Therefore, in recent decades, with the opening of the Sino-Thai high-speed rail, the Thai railway, especially the high-speed rail, should have a very good development, or the high-speed rail in Southeast Asia will have a better development. After all, there is no high-speed railway in Southeast Asia except the newly opened China-Laos line.

3. China-Myanmar Line (West Line)

This railway line is blocked by many parties. If you look at the map, Kyaukphyu in Myanmar will take you to the Bay of Bengal and then to the Indian Ocean. With this line, we can bypass the Straits of Malacca.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by China and Myanmar on 20 1 1, China will spend 2 billion US dollars to build a railway with a length of 12 15 kilometers, which will pass through Kyaukphyu, Myanmar and Kunming, China. However, due to various factors, the plan was later shelved.

Since then, the two countries have been communicating, but they have not seen any real progress recently.

Now that China-Laos Railway is well connected, it has set an example for neighboring countries. I wonder if it will promote the construction of the China-Myanmar railway.

4. China-Vietnam Line (East Line)

Vietnam's high-speed rail is aided by Japan and is expected to be fully opened in 2045.

Fourth, it is difficult to implement.

1, technical difficulties

The Trans-Asian Railway is not a completely new railway line, because almost all countries already have railway lines, mainly connecting different lines to form a railway network, and if there are missing sections, building new railway lines.

However, the biggest difficulty in the process of stringing is that the gauge of railways in different countries is different, so it is necessary to unify the gauge.

Trains run at different speeds and different gauges. The gauge of our country is 1453 mm, which is suitable for high-speed rail with a speed of 250km/h..

The gauge of most countries in Southeast Asia is 1000, with a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

It is difficult to connect because of the different gauge.

2. Political factors

This railway line can be connected, which is of course of great help to the economic development of all countries, but it is difficult to connect because of the different interests of all countries.

For example, China and Japan are frequent competitors of high-speed railway projects in Southeast Asia.

Part of Thailand's high-speed rail project is Sino-Thai cooperation and part is Japan-Thailand cooperation.

The railway in Laos was aided by China, and the railway in Vietnam was aided by Japan.

Another example is the route in Myanmar, which is restricted by all parties and cannot make substantial progress.

3. Financial factors

It takes a lot of money to build a railway. Who will pay for it, who will manage it and how much will benefit? All these are factors that countries will consider.

For example, in Malaysia and Singapore, the two governments originally decided to build a high-speed rail line, but in the end, the Malaysian government terminated this line on the grounds of excessive capital investment.

Let the Trans-Asian Railway be called the "broken tail" highway.

Fortunately, there is a railway between Thailand, Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore, but it is a narrow rail line of1000 mm. After checking the relevant information, it should be to maintain the general speed and not change this line into a high-speed rail for the time being.

5. Thinking about immigration caused by these ways.

1. The Trans-Asian Railway (Southeast Asia Section) will connect eight countries in series, involving a large-scale complex with a population of about1700 million.

(China 65.438+04 billion, Viet Nam 97 million, Thailand 70 million, Myanmar 54 million, Malaysia 32 million, Cambodia 65.438+06 million, Laos 7.2 million and Singapore 5.6 million. )

In addition, compared with the surrounding areas of China, Mongolia, Russia in the north and Zhustan in the west have tough folk customs and harsh natural environment.

Only Southeast Asia has no major problems except economic backwardness.

But the backward economy is a good place for big bosses to play high-dimensional and low-dimensional games.

With a large population, good environment and relatively backward economy, I think this is a good place ~

So, don't dislike Southeast Asia. This may really be a second chance in your career.

In Thailand, Bangkok is undoubtedly the center of the center, and Bangkok will have greater development in the future.

Therefore, if you want to move to Thailand for the main purpose of finding a job and doing business, Bangkok is definitely the first choice.

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, with the most educational, medical and commercial resources and the broadest development in the future.

As for me, although I know that the prosperity of Bangkok will be more conducive to my career, I will still choose to live in Chiang Mai.

I chose Chiang Mai for the following reasons:

(1) Everything has a double-edged sword. Behind the prosperity are the common problems of big cities, such as environmental pollution, noise and traffic jams. Experienced, don't like, don't choose.

(2) Although Chiang Mai is not as prosperous as Bangkok, as the economic center in northern Thailand and the second largest city in Thailand, it still has abundant necessary medical and educational resources.

(3) Chiang Mai has simple folk customs, many mountains and trees, a rustic atmosphere and many small and fresh coffee shops, which is my favorite city feeling.

Thailand is a small country. It takes an hour or two to fly anywhere, and the ticket is one or two hundred yuan, which is very convenient.